Pedigree
by CameoAmalthea
Summary: As a teen, Rufus ShinRa committed corporate espionage, and funneled money to a terrorist organization. As a man, he vowed to rule the world through fear. A look at Rufus Shinra, and his relationship with those closest to him.
1. Chapter 1: Born and Bred

Warning: Contains Spoilers to Before Crisis

In his house, read: prison, in Junon, Rufus Shinra, still Vice President of Shin-Ra Inc. despite everything, sits and thinks about what he's done. Isn't that what boys in time out are supposed to do? His father always did treat him like a child. His father kept him in confinement for years, before simply exiling him to Junon under less harsh conditions. Officially his punishment is over, but Rufus knows the old man will never fully trust him again.

All the same, Rufus now suspects his father is almost proud of him for his betrayal. Not because he betrayed his father per se, but because he took the initiative to do it. And because he'd gotten away with it for so long, which was fairly impressive.

No one crossed Shinra and lived. That was the general thought on how things ought to be. Rufus knew he'd be an exception. His father was too old to groom another heir even if he could produce one. Do to a combination of factors, stress, weight, perhaps Mako exposure, the President had been all but infertile for years. It was a miracle, or rather a wonder of science, that Rufus had been conceived at all. Rufus wasn't a test tube baby by any means, the President wanted an heir, not one of Hojo's experiments. However, fertility pills apparently could work wonders if you tried hard enough. Rufus was a miracle, and as it turned out an asset his father couldn't afford to lose.

Oh, Rufus had been perturbed to learn about the bastard. The love child his father had conceived with some slum bitch almost two decades before Rufus was born, back when his father could still get it up and wasn't shooting blanks. Rufus's hatred of Lazard was no secret. Even if he acted civil enough in public. However, Rufus had never felt threatened by him. There was no way his father would chose the illegitimate over him. Rufus was groomed since birth to take follow in his father's footsteps. It was, quite literally, what he had been born to do. He suspected his father only married his mother so she could produce him.

His mother had been beautiful. So, perhaps the marriage had been partially out of the old man's desire to have such a precious trinket on his arm. Something the old man would never have been able to get if he wasn't who he was. Rufus didn't know which idea was easier to stomach, his mother as trophy or his mother chosen like some chocobo to be a good breeder.

Well, the Shinra family was the closest thing the planet had to royalty anymore. It made sense President Shinra to marry a woman because she'd give him a son. He knew his father had never loved his mother.

Maybe that's why he hated Lazard as much as he did, because he knew his father had loved Lazard's mother. He also knew that his father loved Lazard more than he'd ever loved him, if his father had loved Rufus at all. Not that the man didn't value Rufus, but if the President loved Rufus it was best described as the love a breeder feels for a thoroughbred Golden. Rufus was an asset. He was the heir, his father's son. An object more than a person in his father's eyes.

Although Rufus's childhood had been marked by neglect, his father had seen to it that Rufus was trained. Molded into what he must be. The man cared nothing for Rufus as a person. He didn't need a child, he needed an heir. Someone to be like him, and follow in his footsteps.

Rufus was more like his mother, in looks and in nature. Nature, however, is malleable. Take a perfectly nice guard hound puppy and treat it with cruelty and you'll get a killer fit for the illegal fighting rings.

Not that Rufus held with such things. His own guard hound, Dark Nation, had been treated with love and taught with care. Rufus knew the hound would die for him not because Rufus had made him a fighter, but because he loved Rufus. Rufus thought his methods of training far superior to those his father had used with him. He even extended his methods to his Turks, for they were all but his now. His father would have executed the lot of them had he not intervened on their behalf. Rufus knew this would ensure they'd be his, loyal to the end. Even if the collateral damage of his treason had cost them some of their own, and he had attempted to have them killed when it was to his benefit.

That had been an act of desperation. His game was up, check and mate, but Rufus had thought at the time he still had a way out. He had wanted to live. Wanted to win. In the games he played, much like chess, sacrifices had to be made. As he'd once told Reno, when they'd first met, that they couldn't be friends, because a person in Rufus's position didn't have the luxury of having friends, or any sort of sentiment. Father had taught Rufus that. Kings could not get attached to pawns. Besides, it was a gamble whether his father really meant to let him live after things had gone so far. Rufus had gambled on his own importance as sole heir, but he knew his father lacked the sentiment to spare him just because Rufus was his son. Better to avoid capture than to take the bet.

Veld had wanted him brought back alive. Insisted that his father only wanted Rufus to be happy, because that's what parents want for their children. Rufus would have laughed, if Veld hadn't been so sincere. If Veld hadn't been more of a father than his old man ever had. If Rufus regretted anything, it had been in his kill order on the Turks. Not because it had failed, because AVALANCHE were no longer his pawns or maybe had never been, but because as much as he tried to squash his sentiment, Veld reminded him of it. Rufus liked the Turks. But all the same, he didn't share Veld's faith in his father, he knew better, and you do what you must to survive. Another lesson from his father.

He can't undo the past, but Rufus thinks he's made amends for his betrayal of the Turks when he saved them. Rufus knows that that Turks won't forget that he saved their lives and trusts that they, like Dark Nation, will stay at his side.

The President wouldn't have understood such things. His was the way of the hound fighter. Rufus had taught by whip and harsh words. He'd been raised to be cold, and to be cruel. Taught that life didn't matter, because other people's live's were beneath him. He was trained to be a ruler, indeed trained to be a tyrant, and he knew it. The problem was, if you trained a hound to be vicious, you'd end up getting bitten yourself. His father must have known he'd vie for power even if it meant bringing his father's empire to the ground. Whatever it took to humiliate the old man, and hasten the day that he would claim all that his father possessed.

He hadn't exactly succeeded in his little scheme. Rufus had been caught and banished to the gilded cage in Junon. He was alive, however, and given the circumstances, that meant a lot. Rufus had gambled and won. He was too important to be put down. Perhaps he might not have been so lucky if he'd been caught before Lazard had gone, shameful as it was, his father might have backed the one he loved over the one he'd groomed.

Then there would have been a tragedy, a car accident or helicopter crash, and the President would announce his son had been killed. The public would mourn their prince as they'd mourned the passing of his mother. A woman much loved by the people, but loved too much by the cameras and other men. His father was not one to be humiliated, and even Shinra couldn't burry all the incriminating evidence the paparazzi caught. By the time he reached his 17th birthday he was sure his father had arranged her death and had found the proof in the Turks' records.

Accessing said records had been no easy task, but there was more to Rufus than met the eye. Tseng had told him that if he'd been anyone else the Turks might have recruited him or killed him. Rufus liked the idea that if fate had dealt him a different hand he might have been a Turk. Veld and Tseng had been more like fathers to him than his real sire ever had, so the idea of joining the Turks family pleased him.

The death threat, well that was to be expected given what he'd done, but given who he was the Turks wouldn't touch him unless ordered to by his father, and in the end the Turks never told his father Rufus had discovered the truth. Rufus swore he'd never bring any of it to light or bring it up with the old man, it wasn't worth starting trouble over. So Veld had let it go. To Rufus, the truth about his mother's fate became just another of the many reasons that he hated his father.

This hatred, coupled with his own ambitions, had led him aid AVALANCHE both financially and with the top level intelligence he'd provided. Fortunately for Rufus, he wasn't like his mother. While she'd served her purpose as soon as he'd been handed to the wet nurse, Rufus's purpose was to inherit his father's empire. His father's blood flowed in his veins, and the old man was too vein to think of his company going to someone who wasn't a Shinra, who wasn't his. Even in his defiance and treason, Rufus had proved he was his father's son.

A frown creased Rufus's features for a moment. Did this mean his father had won after all?

Note: Thanks for reading. I've never written an FF7 fic before, so feedback would be appreciated. Please let me know if I got any of the facts wrong so I can fix things. Oh and credit to redcherryamber and her wonderful fic Somewhere in Midgar Two Children for the idea of President Shinra having his wife killed. It makes a lot of sense, and helps explain part of the reason Rufus wanted to kill his own father.


	2. Chapter 2: Bark and Bite

"Sir," Tseng addressed him.

Rufus looked up from his desk. The Turk must have just arrived; Rufus hadn't been aware he was in Junon. There was no question in Rufus's mind as to why Tseng was there. The look on Tseng's face was enough to tell him all he needed to know, although no one else could have read anything there.

Besides, from the desperate phone call he'd received from Palmer hours ago, what had happened was all but a forgone conclusion. _Sephiroth was back and lose in the building. They couldn't stop him, they needed reinforcements._ Rufus had chosen to do nothing. No sense putting his Turks in danger. His father had made his bed and he could lie in it. Not that Rufus would share this information with Tseng, not yet at least. The Turk would find out eventually, but at the moment Rufus didn't feel like justifying himself to anyone. He'd know soon enough and Rufus would have the Turks fix the records. To the world it would seem Rufus Shinra had done everything in his power to help, but unfortunately...

"He's dead, isn't he?" asked Rufus. Like the Turk, his words gave no clue as to his feelings. Indeed, the only thing his voice did reveal was that Rufus spoke with all the confidence befitting a young prince.

Tseng inclined his head. "This morning," he stated. "I didn't know you had been informed."

"I hadn't," said Rufus. "You've never called me 'Sir' like that before, like I'm actually your boss. Furthermore, I could see it in your eyes." A smirk graced Rufus's lips. "Don't take it personally, Tseng, but I'm as good at reading people as you are, and I know you, as well as anyone can know a Turk. Do you suspect me?" He smiled and waited for the Turk to respond.

"No," he said. "You were here and under our supervision."

"As I have been for quite some time," said Rufus. He had been under house arrest ever since his father discovered his little scheme. For years he'd been held in Midgar in the Turk's keeping. When his father decided that the Turks were less than trustworthy he'd "freed" Rufus, only to exile him to Junon. It was still house arrest, he wasn't free to go where he pleased or make contact with anyone he chose. His father thought he was harmless, out of the way. Rufus wondered if his father had ever guessed he'd have to call on Rufus for aid, and that when that moment came Rufus would say no. Was refusing to do anything to save him and leaving him to die the same as killing him?

"We're almost certain it was Sephiroth," said Tseng.

"Oh? Died by the sword, then?" He was tempted to ask if the old man's head rolled; part of him like the idea of literally seeing his father's head on a plate. However, it would have been inappropriate to ask. "And Sephiroth?"

"Gone," said Tseng.

"Well then," said Rufus; he stood and walked to the closet to get his coat. "No time to waste. We must be off. There's a chopper waiting, I presume? I'll make arrangements for my arrival en route."

"Arrangements?" Asked Tseng.

"The king is dead, Tseng," said Rufus. He pulled on his crisp white suit jacket and grinned at the Turk. "Long live the king!" Rufus shut the closet door and returned to the desk to retrieve a folder. "I've designed banners, and they'll blanket the streets of Midgar. I've also composed some music for the occasion, nothing much, just welcoming fanfare for the marching band."

"The _marching band_?" asked Tseng.

Rufus handed the folder to Tseng, inside were designs for banners: Rufus's name in looping script like a logo with the tagline New Age, as well as some sheet music. Not that Rufus thought the Turk would care, but he had no one else show off his handiwork to. "I'll send off an email with all that before take off. The flight should be long enough them to at least begin preparations."

Tseng looked through the folder. "So you intend to have a parade?"

"Well, we'll have to secure the building and deal with things, but as soon as possible I am going to have my parade. Of course, if security is of concern, I am prepared to move my inauguration ceremony here to Junon if necessary. That might work better in fact. I intend to begin the hunt for Sephiroth as soon as my celebration is finished. We can launch my airship from Junon to a chorus of cheers. Heidegger should have the air-ship ready, yes?"

"But Sir, a parade? This soon after your father's death?" asked Tseng.

"Oh, don't act so surprised, you know how I feel about the man," said Rufus. "Besides, the image of Shin-Ra we want to send is not one of weakness. We don't have time to mourn, we must move forward. A glorious future awaits this company, and everyone must be secure in that knowledge."

Tseng looked at him for a long moment. Rufus didn't know what was going through the older man's head; perhaps he thought Rufus seemed like a child playing dress up.

"You've put a lot of thought into this," he said at last.

"Oh, a great deal," said Rufus. "I've waited a long time for this day, and since my father had me detained I haven't had much else to do with my time. I thought it best to keep myself busy."

"Hence the composition?" asked Tseng.

"I thought composing my own welcoming march would be a nice touch. Father would have hated it. But don't worry, I haven't been wasting my time here, Tseng. I've spent my time planning for the eventuality of the old man's demise including my plans for today and our future."

"The eventuality?"

"It had to happen sometime, even if I had to wait for the old man to die of a heart attack or cancer. His propensity for food and cigars didn't do his health any favors. Although, I'll admit, I had hoped it would be something like this. It's the death he deserved. The price for his arrogance, killed by the monster he made. Father always thought he'd be followed blindly, that he could buy loyalty."

"It's not very polite to sneer at the memory of the dead," said Tseng. "You're gloating, Rufus."

"This will stay between us," said Rufus. "I'll play the proper role, the respectful son mourning his father but moving-" The door opened and a lanky red haired Turk let himself into the room. Rufus paused for a moment, then resumed speaking, "continue moving forward. But I am aware that not many know where I was at the time of the murder, and the last thing I need is to arouse suspicion that I was somehow involved in my father's death."

"It'd be pretty ironic, yo," said Reno. He slouched against the door frame. "Considering no one had a clue when you actually were trying to do him in."

Tseng shot Reno a look, but the younger Turk just shrugged.

"What?" asked Reno. "It's the truth. Took us long enough to catch on, yeah? Gotta give the kid props for that."

It was Rufus' turn to give Reno a look of his own. This look was enough to wipe the smirk from the Turk's face. "In the future, Reno," said Rufus. "I expect the proper respect when you refer to me. Although," he smiled. "The 'props' are appreciated. So, I take it you'll be my pilot?"

"Yeah, ready to go when you are, boss."

Rufus nodded; he had neither time nor need, to bother with packing. He would have everything he needed in Midgar. What belongings he left would be packed and sent by the domestics he retained. He would inform the necessary people on the way.

Rufus shut his laptop and put into his brief case. He then turned to the guard hound laying on the floor. "Dark Nation," he said. The guard hound got to his feet, and walked to his master's side to give Rufus's hand a lick. Rufus put a hand on the guard hound's head, and smiled. His pet was probably the closest thing he'd ever had to a real friend; the Turks couldn't really count as friends given their positions as his subordinates, even if he was closer to them than anyone in the world. Rufus had had the hound since he was boy, a gift from the Turks shortly after his mother's death; well that was the short version of the story.

Dark Nation was very old for a guard hound, but no one could tell the hound was past his prime by looking. Part of Rufus liked to think Dark Nation had held on this long so he could live to see this day, to become the pet of the most powerful man on earth once Rufus was given his due. More likely, Dark Nation would try hang on for as long as his master needed him like the good hound he was.

"I'm ready," said Rufus. He headed to the door, but paused in front of Tseng. There was a time when all Rufus had wanted was to make his father proud. He had long ago given up on that. His father was never going to love him, and, in truth, wasn't even worth his respect. So, why waste his time yearning for approval?

However, Rufus was still young, and, until today, had been a sheltered boy. Today, he would step into manhood, but he could not afford to simply be a man, he had to be more than that. Something greater, and how he could do that if he was still just a boy in so many ways. He looked to Tseng- the man who he respected more than he had respected his father in years. The man who had been more mentor than subordinate.

"I am ready," he said. "My father was in many ways a fool. He was blinded by his arrogance, and had far more bark than bite."

"And you plan to be more bite?" asked Reno.

If Rufus was annoyed at his interruption he didn't show it, but continued on. "_All_ bite," Rufus responded. "A true threat doesn't need to bark to show it's dangerous, people know by its actions. My father ruled by money and power, the good will of the people. Like "AVALANCHE's attack" on Sector 7. Your handiwork on his orders?"

"Yeah," said Reno, crossing his arms. He didn't sound happy about it.

Rufus turned and looked at him, looking carefully for the first time. The mission hadn't left Reno unscathed, he was bruised and stitched, there were bandages showing from beneath his dress shirt. He shouldn't have been up and about, Rufus was sure, but he also knew Reno wasn't the easiest person to confine to a hospital bed. Tseng would probably keep him off most missions for a while, but Rufus supposed flying them to Midgar wouldn't be too strenuous. Reno could practically fly in his sleep.

"Well why on Gaia would you want the people to think it was a successful attack by AVALANCHE instead of taking credit for it? A successful attack by our enemies makes us look weak, a willingness to strike at our enemies no matter the cost, now that's strength."

"A lot of people were killed, yo," said Reno. "It's not exactly something to be proud of."

"The collateral damage was necessary, was it not?" asked Rufus.

"The collapse was suggested by Heidegger and the late President supported it," said Tseng. "I...did not agree with that course of action. Although stopping terrorist activity is a priority, more lives were lost than I would deem acceptable. An individual life is not important when compared to the greater good, but that by no means justifies killing indiscriminately. There's a difference between being a killer and a murderer, Rufus."

"What course of action would you have recommended?" asked Rufus.

"Something more precise. The only result of our operation was massive amounts of civilian casualties. None of our targets were eliminated. Even if the mission had been successful, it is still my opinion that-"

"It was rash, and the cost was too great," said Rufus. "My father was an idiot and Heidegger is a stupid braying jackass." Rufus knew he wouldn't be able to fire the man, however. He'd be needed. Well he could always put Heidegger in charge of setting up his inauguration ceremony, he'd hate that. In lieu of actually punishing Heidegger, Rufus could at least make his life a little more miserable.

"So you wouldn't have supported the destruction of Sector 7?" asked Tseng.

"I regret that the plan was carried out," said Rufus. "Midgar is my city. Of course I wouldn't have supported it. It's like using a chain saw for something requiring a scalpel! Civilian causalities at that scale, it's unacceptable, unthinkable unless benefits outweigh the cost. Here they clearly do not. My point is this. If in the future, loss of life is a _necessary_ price, I will not hesitate and I will not be afraid to act openly."

"What? So brand new, no secrets Shinra?" scoffed Reno. "Think we're about to lose half of our job, chief?" The redhead asked Tseng.

"By no means," said Rufus. "Company image is important, and some things must be done to insure public well being and faith. However, when it comes to image, I say that it is better to be feared than loved, as long as you aren't hated. Never be hated, that's what my father never understood. Shin-ra's actions created enemies regardless of what we tell the press, because it's the ones we have cut that are out for our blood. I'd bet my fortune that AVALANCHE has drawn members from people hurt by Shinra. Needlessly killing and ruining lives creates hatred, and that is a threat to our control. Under my new policies there will not be such wasteful actions. As to our existing enemies, I will use any means necessary to crush them. By making it public knowledge that to be an enemy of Shinra is to be as good as dead, we'll ultimately have fewer enemies. I'm not saying that there won't be people who will need to be quietly dealt with, but I am saying is that public executions have their benefits."

Reno smirked, "All right, all right, kid's got style. I like it."

"Reno!" Rufus snapped. "If you call me kid again-"

"Right, right, boss. Boss's got style. Seriously yo, you think like a Turk. A little fear can go a long way in making things go smooth-like."

"Exactly," chirped Rufus. "My father always said that if you took care of the people, they'd follow you. But he never took care of them; he gave them enough to get by, a little food and entertainment to keep them well distracted. He wanted to keep them happy so they'd be loyal, but the truth is you'll never make everyone happy, certainly not by wasting money on cover-ups. We can do real good with this company, we can ensure peace and provide real services. However, the world must see that Shin-Ra is not a force to be crossed. Our enemies will be dealt with, and I intend to spare no expense to insure that they are. And unlike my father, I won't waste money on placating the ingrates or funding dead end experiments. No, good old-fashion weaponry, that's our future, a big flash and an even bigger bang. Because, unlike a SOLDIER, a gun can't turn against you as long as you're the one holding the trigger."

He looked to Tseng. A boy looking for approval, or a king looking to an adviser, it was hard to tell.

"No one knows your father's dead yet, sir," said Tseng. "We've haven't even allowed anyone in to move the body to ensure that this wouldn't be leaked. We plan to break news once you're in Midgar. What do you want the story to be?"

"The truth," said Rufus. "My father always wanted me to be his legacy. An heir to serve as his little piece of immortality, but I am not his legacy. His legacy can be his failures. The disasters with SOLDIER, and, more recently, the unfortunate attack by AVALANCHE on Sector 7, and now Sephiroth, his poster boy, murdering him like a sad, scared child. When the public thinks of my father, let them think of that. As for the company image, well, I've informed you of my intentions. ShinRa is under new management, a new age. The age of Rufus. It's part of why I had my logo drawn up, the people in marketing call it rebranding. This is my company now, and I'm going to create my own legacy and live it."

Rufus spoke with all the confidence of a youth who had yet to learn the fact of his own mortality and all the vanity of a man assured of his own power. That combination could prove dangerous, Tseng knew. He looked at Rufus for a long moment, but this wasn't a situation he could quickly analyze and resolve.

"Tseng?" asked Rufus. "Reno, could you give us a moment? I'll meet you at the front door."

"Sure thing," said Reno. The redheaded Turk shut the door on his way out.

Tseng regarded the President and tried to put into words what he had in mind to say without sounding disrespectful of Rufus's newly gained authority.

In the end it was Rufus who broke the silence. "You know, Tseng," he said, "your counsel is always welcome. You and the rest of my Turks may be my subordinates, but they're also...a great asset. In truth, if it wasn't for my position I'd have gladly been one of you. Veld was a father to his men, as well as a leader, and I envied the Turks that. If I'd had an older brother, well, one worth recognizing at such, I'd have liked for him to be like you. There was a time when I regretted that I couldn't be a part of your team, because I think I'd be very well cut out for it. Of course, I've come to embrace my destiny and couldn't picture myself under anyone's authority for the rest of my life. That doesn't mean I'm above listening or above showing respect where it is due." He inclined his head in the slightest of bows.

Tseng put his hand on the younger man's shoulder and looked at him as a father might look upon his son on the day of his graduation. "You never needed to be _on _our team, Rufus," Tseng said. "We_are_ your team."

Both men knew that Tseng would never touch Rufus in such away again, because men in Tseng's position did not have the luxury of forgetting their place. Rufus smiled and they both knew he would never smile like that again, because men in Rufus's position did not have the luxury to let their guard down enough to truly smile.

**Note: Ok once again, credit to "Somewhere in Midgar Two Children" (go read it, it's awesome!) for the bit about Rufus being able to write music. More I just liked the idea that Rufus would design his own banners and compose his own fanfare because it seems like the sort of petty vanity Rufus would indulge in. I think he's a tad egotistical, and nothing says egotistical like writing your own theme music and drawing up a personal logo.**


	3. Chapter 3:Caught and Kept

**Thank you to my betas. And this chapter references my fic Orphans and works well as a sort of epilogue for that fic. So I suggest reading it first.**

When they arrive in Midgar, Rufus orders Reno to bring the chopper down. He intends to engage his enemies face to face, and before the Turks can say anything, Rufus leaps off the helicopter onto the roof.

There he makes his stand and loses. The fight costs Dark Nation his life, and might have very well been the end for Rufus. However, his Turks won't let him down, and as if on cue, Reno lowers the chopper. Rufus has spent a good deal of his time in Junon keeping up his strength; he could still fire his shotgun one-handed without flinching at the recoil, and he can hold on while the helicopter lifts him high above the city.

Reno lowers a rope ladder, and then offers his hand to pull Rufus inside. Once inside Rufus stumbles, and falls forward into Reno's arms. The Turk catches him, and does his best to steady his boss.

"You okay, boss?" asked Reno. It is a rare moment when the Turk lets his emotions show. Reno is worried. He'd always had a soft spot for Rufus, ever since they'd first met. However, Rufus doesn't reflect on the day he'd first come to know the Turk. Rather, he thinks back to events following his capture in Corel.

That was almost four years ago. Back then, he'd been held in Midgar, inside a secret holding cell on the Turks' floor of the Shin-Ra building. Reno had found him there. The redhead crashed into the room like an oncoming tidal wave and punched Rufus square in the jaw.

It sent Rufus backwards a few feet, and left his nose bloody. Rufus disregarded the pain and wiped away the blood with the handkerchief in his pocket. "You know you'll get into trouble for this," said Rufus. He sat on the bed, and closed his eyes for a moment.

Reno just laughed. "Yeah, I know," he said. "It's easy to get in trouble around here. Unless you're you. If it were up to me, yo, there'd be a bullet in your head right now!"

Rufus said nothing, his breathing remained calm. Unmoved.

"How could you do this?" asked Reno. "I thought we were-"

"We were never friends!" said Rufus. "You knew that was never a possibility. You knew that from the beginning!"

"Yeah, guess you're right," said Reno. "All the same never thought you'd try to sign my death warrant, and theirs. One of ours nearly died because of you! They're in a fucking coma and might never wake up!"

"Because of AVALANCHE," corrected Rufus. "I didn't order them to target that reactor!"

Reno just rolled his eyes. "You seemed pretty comfortable with the situation when you told them to kill us."

The blonde shrugged. "I used what I had. I suspected my father had caught on, and I needed a way out. There was no guarantee he wouldn't kill me, you know? I thought if I joined with AVALANCHE and eliminated those who knew of my betrayal I could continue with my plans for patricide. If I managed to dispose of the old man, well then there would be no one alive to know I'm a traitor and nothing to keep me from claiming my inheritance, my world. It wasn't personal Reno, the only person I wanted to kill was my father."

"And how many people, innocent people, have died because of AVALANCHE, because of you? Because some spoiled brat couldn't wait?" asked Reno. "You were a good person once, yo."

"I was shiny?" scoffed Rufus; he rolled his eyes. However, when he spoke next his voice was dead serious. "You were a good person once Reno. But tell me, how many innocents have you killed at the company's behest? Monsters aren't really in the position to call others of their kind evil, are they? Try washing the blood from your own hands before pointing out the stains on mine."

"I'd never turn on my own!" said Reno. He began to pace the small room.

Rufus chuckled, "What about Veld? He's left, you know. Father won't allow it. You'll be ordered to hunt him down. Tseng's probably getting the order as we speak."

Reno rounded on Rufus. "You told the President!" He grabbed him by the collar and hauled him up. "You-"

"He would have found out eventually," said Rufus. "It's better he learns now, he'd order all your deaths if he thought you were protecting a traitor."

"You're the traitor Rufus," Reno spat, before throwing him to the bed again. The redhead turned to leave, but stopped when Rufus spoke.

"Yes, and because of that my father's just as likely to order my execution," he said. "However, while I doubt he'll be able to catch Veld, he already has me."

"He's not gonna kill you," said Reno. "Don't play victim, it doesn't suit you."

Rufus laughed, "You honestly think he won't?" He got to his feet, and walked to the long mirror which took up one the walls. It was in fact a window, mirrored on one side, but Rufus stared at as if he could see beyond his refection. "Veld told me, before he left, that parents care for the well-being of their child. I was never my father's baby, this company was. I threatened that. I left him in a hard spot. If he kills me or arranges my disappearance, whatever tragic accident they inform the press about, then his name dies with me. However, his name's on the company. That's his legacy. He doesn't truly require an heir, as long as Shin-Ra survives to bear his name. So it's a difficult choice. On the one hand I threatened what he holds dearest, and anyone who crosses him or his company must die, on the other, I think his vanity compels him to keep this company in the family, to have a son to pass it to. He's weighing his options." Rufus turned away from the mirror to look at Reno. "I'm not sure which he'll choose." Rufus smirked. "If he does order my death, will you volunteer to take the assignment?"

They were silent for a long time.

At last Reno spoke. "Why did you tell him about Veld?"

"I had to give him something!" snapped Rufus. "A sign of repentance. A sign I'm still useful. Perhaps, it was merely to give him a distraction. Another betrayal to take his mind off of mine. I don't want to die."

"Right, you'd sell us all out to save your own sorry skin," spat Reno.

"I'm not going to apologize for what I did," said Rufus. "It was my life or yours. Kings don't put pawns before themselves."

"So that's all I am to you?" asked Reno.

Rufus looked away again. "When we first met. I thought things had worked out like a fairy tale." He turned and walked towards the bed. "When I saw you with the Turks, it was like you'd found where you belonged, like the ugly chocoboling finding the family he lacked. You were one of them." A smile as Rufus sat down, but in vanished soon enough. "Life isn't like a fairytale though, is it? There aren't happy endings, not for men like us."

"As I recall, you acted like one of us, too."

"Veld insisted I learn how to shoot, and you and I trained together," a ghost of a smile at the memory. "I hung around there even though it wasn't my place."

"I remember," said Reno. "Then you just disappeared."

"I discovered something," said Rufus. "When I was sixteen I hacked into several secure files. I've had a knack for that sort of thing. I'd been meaning to for a while, ever since I'd found out my father was letting that leech Don Corneo grow fat in the slums off the people's blood. I wanted to know the things that went on. I found things, lots of things I shouldn't have. My father ordered my mother's death." Rufus turned to look at Reno. "The order was carried out by the Turks."

Their eyes met. "I...why would-"

Rufus laughed, cold and bitter. "Because of who my mother was," said Rufus. "Everyone loved her, and she loved everyone in return, with smiles and the blush on her cheeks. My father still keeps a painting of her in the pint house. I used to think, foolish child that I was, he kept it because he had loved her. In truth, he loved the painting more than her. He said to me once that the painting looked as if she were alive. He preferred that, close to life but not quite. The painting couldn't blush, but mother-well she blushed and flirted without even trying. There were men who'd smile at her, and she'd smile at them. She'd accept these smiles and gifts of flowers. My father-he'd given her the Shinra name. That should have been enough for her. It wasn't; he got angry, and so he gave the orders and all the smiles stopped."

"Rufus-" Reno began.

"Oh, I understand why he did it," said Rufus. "Father likes things he can buy, objects he could own. I'm certain my mother, beautiful woman that she was, was a trophy for him. However, it turned out he couldn't own her, nor control her. But he could end her, and he did. He had his reputation to uphold, of course. President Shinra, the most powerful man in the world, can't control his own wife? He couldn't have people think that, and sooner or later the tabloids would have published something. My father saw a problem, and had the Turks deal with it. It's what they do, after all."

"I didn't know," said Reno. "I swear, I didn't-"

"No," said Rufus. "That mission was before your time. Tseng knew, of course, and Veld he...I was never close with my father, but with the Turks, I'd almost thought...I should have known. You can't trust anyone, and you're better off if you learn that." A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "I thought it's something you would have known. Yet you act as if my betrayal hurt."

"It did," said Reno. "I wanted to kill you, or beat you to a bloody pulp, and you're the last person I ever thought I'd want to hurt."

"Betrayal cuts deeper than any blade, pierces swifter than any bullet. I know from experience. I guess you could call what I did revenge."

Reno nodded, and Rufus wondered if he'd made it harder for the Turk to hate him. "So kill your dad for what he did to your mom, and take out the Turks for carrying out the order."

"Oh please, the Turks were never a target, you just got in my way. I knew there'd be collateral damage from the get go, there's always a price. I didn't care if the Turks were destroyed, but I didn't want to kill everyone and burn the company to the ground because I miss my mother. I'm not that pathetic or that psychotic. Yes, when I learned what my father had done I decided then and there that I was going to kill him, but it's not the only reason. If anything I did what my father wanted me to."

"What?" asked Reno.

"I was always a disappointment to my father, never good enough, never given a word of praise despite my efforts," spat Rufus. "He thinks I'm a loser, well what better way to prove him wrong than to beat him. To show him that I am worthy to be his sucessor to show him I could bring him and his precious company to it's knees. Now I've lost," Rufus laughed and shook his head, "but maybe not entirely if I manage to escape with my life. Either way, at least I have his attention now."

"Rufus! Do you have any idea how many people you could have killed yo?" asked Reno, once more seeming disgusted. "I don't care about your revenge or your cries for attention, this isn't a game."

"Oh I realize," said Rufus. "Don't mistake me, there was more than this than attacking my father. There was so much more that I'd wanted to do. I was going to remake this company in my own image. I had plans, Reno. Plans for a better future, a better Shinra."

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," said Reno. "Someone said that, I think. It's not Loveless, is it? Whatever, the point stands. What you did-"

"Was despicable," supplied Rufus.

"Dirty," said Reno.

"That too, I know. But you've done some dirty things yourself. The only difference is where our loyalties lie. Your loyalty is to the Turks, to Shin-Ra. My loyalty is to myself."

"You are Shinra," came a voice. The men turned to see Tseng standing at the door. "Even if you despise your father, you cannot change who you are. You are his son, and the future president of this company. As such, our loyalty is still to you Rufus, or will be one day. If you were anyone else you would be dead for what you did. I'd make sure of it personally. But you're Rufus Shinra. You are our future."

"So I take it my father isn't going to order my death then?" asked Rufus. Despite his calm façade, he'd been expecting the bullet. He also expected Tseng to want him dead for what he'd done. He'd put the Turks in danger and practically sealed Veld's death sentence, if the anyone managed to catch him.

"You are going to remain in our custody indefinitely," said Tseng.

"And what are you going to do to me?" asked Rufus. He'd betrayed Tseng, and put him in the worst position imaginable. Veld had been like a father to Tseng and now Tseng had no choice but to...

Rufus didn't want to think about what Tseng would do to him. He hated that it had come to this. Tseng had watched over Rufus since the young Vice President was just a child. He'd been five or so when he'd met the Turk, then just a teenager. Veld had told Rufus that Tseng was assigned specifically to him. Tseng had been one of the best even early on, but perhaps Veld had chosen him to look after Rufus for another reason. Tseng was young for a Turk, so he would be there with Rufus all his life. Maybe Veld wanted to foster a strong relationship between the two of them.

Any seeds Veld had sown were ruined when Rufus discovered the truth about his mother's death. After that, he'd ordered the Turks to stay away from him. An order they'd obeyed whenever possible. The Turks had breached his trust, and broken whatever heart Rufus had left to give them. Because Rufus had had plans that he wouldn't the Turks get in the way of. Those plans had now made the Turks his enemies.

"We're going to look after you," said Tseng.

"What?" asked Rufus. Tseng sounded too calm. He should be out for blood.

"Don't get me wrong. You will be punished: severely," said Tseng. "But not because I want to get back at you. There's been enough revenge plays. I understand your motives. The reasons you did all you did. Don't think that you're forgiven, or that we trust you. You'll be our prisoner, but one day we'll be your Turks. So yes, we're going to look after you."

"You aren't angry?" asked Rufus. He'd expected Tseng to want to tear him apart as much as Reno had.

"Angry? I'm seething," said Tseng. "But Veld taught me that part of my job is keeping my emotions in check. And right now I need you to understand we aren't your enemies. You will be punished, but it won't be because we hate you. It will be because you are getting what you deserve. That is what you must accept. Part of looking out for someone is ensuring that they learn from their mistakes."

The words struck Rufus, and drew his mind back to another place, another time. To when he and Reno were different people. Rufus looked to the red head. "What about you, Reno?" asked Rufus. "Do you still want to look after me?"

Reno looked long and hard at Rufus. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind hitting you again and not stopping until you're good and bloody," said Reno. "But the thing is. I always sort of saw you as one of us. Like back in the old days when you used to hang around, and just, the way you are. You're one of our kind, and like I said, I don't turn on my own. If you want me to forgive you, well then you're going to have to make up for this. But I'll give you a chance, yo."

"Thank you," said Rufus.

The redhead shrugged again. "Never figured you as one to care what I thought."

No, Rufus Shinra wasn't one to care what anyone thought, or at least that's what he liked to believe. Except their words made him feel almost loved. That after everything they'd still be by his side.

"Well then," said Rufus. "I'll find a way to make things up to you, one day. Then maybe you'll forgive me." It was the closest Rufus could come to saying he was sorry. "As long as you're on my side, I'll be on yours." It felt good to have someone on his side. He hadn't even realized how isolated he'd been until that moment.

"I hope one day I'll be able to believe that," said Tseng. "For now, I'll take that as an apology."

In the present. Rufus smiles at Reno. "I'll be all right," he said.

"You'd better be," said Reno. "Tseng's gonna have our hides for letting you jump out like that."

"You didn't let me jump out, I did that on my own," said Rufus. "Tseng's going to have to learn that there will be times where I will leap before I look, because I need to. All I expect is that someone be there to catch me."

**Note: This chapter contained a large allusion to Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess", full credit to him. I encourage you to read the poem. If you google My Last Duchess the first link you get is to Spark Notes, they have the poem in full plus an summary of what's going on in it.**


	4. Chapter 4: Bleed and Cry

The secretary buzzed his intercom, and Rufus answered. "Sir, there's someone from the Department of Administrative research here to see you," she said.

A Turk? What did they want? Had something else happened? Rufus sighed and shook his head. Then he pressed the speaker button on the intercom. "Send them in."

Rufus unlocked the door remotely, and waited. When the door opened, it wasn't who he expected at all. Reno and Rude were due to meet with him today, who was this girl. Well he knew her obviously she was the one who'd given him the report about the discovery right before…Tseng.

"Sir," she said. Rufus watched her as she approached his desk. She seemed almost…afraid. Like a bird approaching a lion. He almost laughed. What was a girl like that doing in the Turk's uniform? Then again, she did look familiar.

"Oh, yes, you're Rosalind's sister, aren't you?" asked Rufus. He watched as her expression darkened. She didn't like that all did she? Well he supposed he could understand. He would have been livid if anyone referred to him only as Lazard's brother or something like that. Although he had gotten, the President's Son as way of address over the years, and had always been quick to correct them that it was Rufus Shinra.

"Elena," she said, before quickly adding, "sir, uh…I'm Elena of the Turks."

Rufus found it amusing. She was quick tempered, he could tell. A real firecracker, but she was holding back, terrified of saying the wrong thing, walking on eggshells before his authority.

"Right," said Rufus, "so tell me, Ms. Elena of the Turks, what can I do for you? Or rather what can you do for me? I assume you have some reason for being here."

"Yes sir," said Elena. "I…I want to go after the people who killed Tseng."

"What?" asked Rufus. His tone was harsher than he'd meant it to be, and he took a breath. He didn't want to seem upset. He couldn't afford to be upset. There was too much to do now. He couldn't break down. Still, hearing his name, hearing that word…killed.

Rufus didn't think about it, not yet. Later, when he had time.

"It was AVALANCHE," said Elena, "They killed him, and I'm going to make them pay."

"Are you?" asked Rufus. He laughed, he couldn't help it, he lost himself in laughter. Tseng was dead, and this little girl was going to make them pay? Even if she could what would it matter. It wouldn't bring him back.

The girl clenched her jaws along with her fists. "Stop laughing!" she snapped.

Rufus fell silent, and fixed her in a cold gaze. She gasped and brought a hand over her mouth. An apology was on her lips, Rufus could tell, but he spoke first.

"Don't say you're sorry," ordered Rufus. He stood, coming around from the desk to approach her. "If you do, you'll be lying. I do not abide liars, especially liars under my own employ. Of course, I generally don't allow anyone to speak to me like that. Who exactly do you think you are?"

"I-"

"No," said Rufus. He raised a hand to silence her. "I know who you think you are, Elena of the Turks, right. You think you're a Turk. Well I think you're kidding yourself. A Turk would know better."

"You deserved it!" said Elena. "How can you laugh like that?" Tears rimmed the edges of her eyes and her voice cracked. "It's not funny."

"Of course not," said Rufus. It was terrible and utterly hopeless. He laughed again despite himself. The girl looked as though she were about to hit him.

"This is all a joke to you, isn't it?" asked Elena. "Why would care that he'd dead, Tseng didn't matter to you."

It was Rufus's turn to look dangerous. His voice was even, but something in his low timbre suggested barely contained rage. "You assume too much," said Rufus.

"Do I?" asked Elena. She wiped at her eyes. Her jaw was set in a hard line. Even with tears in her eyes she formidable, if anything they only made the Turk seem fiercer. "We're nothing to you, just tools to be used and discarded, and if we die, who cares. You got what you wanted."

"Stop," said Rufus. He took a sharp breath. "I didn't want Tseng to die."

"Then why did you send us on that suicide mission?" she asked, "You knew it was dangerous, if you'd sent more than just the two of us."

"If you had stayed with him like a good partner should!" countered Rufus. He was almost to her now, his eyes locked with hers in a stare down.

"I…I…I only left because he ordered me to," said Elena, "He said you had to know about what we found, and my PHS couldn't get a signal anywhere near the Temple."

"Ah yes," said Rufus. He took a deep breath and looked away. His own jaw was clenched. "I remember, you informed me as much when you called. I asked where Tseng was and told you to get back to him. But it was all ready too late by then."

"It's not my fault," said Elena.

"And it's not mine, so don't come in here blaming me," said Rufus.

"That wasn't my intention, sir," said Elena. She took a shaky breath. The girl was on the edge of sobbing. "AVALANCHE is to blame. Just let me make them pay."

"Why come to me?" asked Rufus. "I'm not your superior. Unless…you all ready asked Reno didn't you?" He turned back around to face her. "And he told you no I presume? Of course he did, it's clear you're unstable. You'll just get yourself killed."

"No!" said Elena.

She must have realized that yelling at him wasn't helping her make her case. She see took another breath and waited a moment to compose herself before speaking.

"All I'm asking is for a chance," said Elena, "please sir. And if I can't handle it, well then I'm worth much as a Turk then am I, so it's no loss to you."

Rufus's expression softened then, and he felt a rare moment of pity. "The worth of a Turk isn't measured by if they can defeat an enemy. If AVALACHE really was behind Tseng's death than it's clear they may be more than any one person can handle. That Cloud claims to have been a Soldier, he wasn't, but from the reports I've read he fights as well as any first class. Do you know what it takes to defeat a SOLDIER first class, Elena? Another Soldier first class, or failing that an army. If I let you go I _would_ be sending you on a suicide mission."

"They have to pay," said Elena. "What do you want me to do? Just let it go? Like it doesn't even matter?" Her voice was cracked, and the words were half sobbed. Rufus took a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her, but she refused with a wave of her hand. "I'm fine."

"This is more than just the loss of a comrade in arms," observed Rufus. She wouldn't be this over the edge if he'd only been a partner. Upset, sure, but anyone in any military position understood that death was an occupational hazard. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"I…yes," said Elena, "I loved him, and I don't care who knows it or what you think of me."

He raised an eyebrow. It was obvious she cared or she wouldn't so defensive. Still, it was brazen and he hated her for it. Who was she to just declare her love; to so freely speak the words he could never could in all his years, because unlike this stupid girl Rufus had always understood that Tseng was an impossibility. How could Rufus have ever told him the things he felt?

He'd told Tseng that he was like a brother to him, the surrogate father figure guiding him through life, and it was partially true but there was more to it than that, Tseng was his advisor, his mentor, his confidant, but he was also a man Rufus had always wanted from the time he was old to want anyone. He'd never say so, it wouldn't be right to say so, or maybe he couldn't bare the thought of Tseng rejecting him or losing what they had. Well now Tseng was lost forever and Rufus would never have he chance.

"That's not the point," said Elena, interrupting Rufus's thoughts. "Tseng was…he deserves better this! He shouldn't be forgotten!"

It was hard to maintain sympathy as she leveled these actuations. On one level Rufus knew she had no idea what Tseng meant to him, or that her words were aimed right at his hear. Hell she probably thought he was a heartless bastard, everyone else did, or almost everyone. Except…the person who understood him most, who had known him all his life, who'd always been there for him and…and loved him was gone now.

"Your feelings don't matter. What you want doesn't matter. And what's fair certainly doesn't matter, because life isn't fair," said Rufus. "If you don't understand that you're nothing more than a child playing dress up in that suit and not a Turk at all. Hell, if you were half the Turk your sister was." He'd always been good at choosing words that went right to another person's heart, and petty as it was Elena had hurt him, he wanted to hurt her back.

A different sort of look came into her eyes. She'd been angry before, hurt, and half mad with grief but this was different, she looked almost dazed, like a drunk momentarily out their right mind.

Her fist connected with his face, hard enough to shatter bone. Rufus stumbled backwards, reeling from the blow and his eyes clenched shut. It was a wonder he'd managed to stay on his feet. He was aware of the pain, searing hot pain, and the suffocating scent of his own blood. Blood, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing him bleed.

He still had the handkerchief he'd offered to Elena in his hand and used it to staunch the bleeding. Rufus took a shaky breath as he tilted his head back, letting the blood flow back into his throat. Better to swallow it along with the pain.

Rufus fished in his pocket for a potion and downed it like shot, the way you have to swallow with bitter things, hard and fast. Then the relief came, the sweet tingling numbness as he felt his bones shift into place. The blood stopped. If only everything could be cured by magic, like it had never happened.

He eyed Elena, debating what to do with the girl who'd dared to lay a hand on him. Rufus folded up the bloodied handkerchief until it was small enough to stuff into the empty bottle from the potion. He pocketed the rubbish to throw away later, at the moment he had other trash to deal with at the moment.

She stood frozen as Rufus closed in on her, then raised her firsts again, but feebly. He grabbed her by the wrist and squeezed, but she didn't even struggle. Their eyes met, and Rufus saw her. He knew Elena realized what she had done, and probably realized he could have her killed for less. As Rufus gripped her wrist like a vice, she felt so breakable. Her large hazel eyes were as round as saucers; she looked so scared and sick.

A sigh escaped his lips as he released his hold on her. She was hurt, mourning, just as he was mourning. He'd practically asked her to hit him. It was what he'd needed, but no…it wasn't all he needed, or all that she needed.

Rufus pulled Elena into his arms, hugging her as he'd never hugged anyone. He held her, as he'd have liked to hold Tseng, or rather, as he'd have liked Tseng to hold him. But even as Rufus held her close, she was rigid in his arms.

Shocked and confused, probably, but it didn't matter. All the same he held her, until, eventually, she relaxed and embraced him, burying her head against his shoulder as she wept. Rufus gently stroked her hair, and let Elena cry, her tears soaking the white silk of his suit.

Moments passed and he simply held her. She was so small and soft. Her body was warm, and solid. He wanted someone to hold every bit as much as she needed to be held. He wished he could let himself cry the way she was crying, but he hadn't allowed himself to cry since he was a child. He'd been pushing down his tears for so many years that he'd forgotten how to cry. Still, it was something just to hold her now.

Once the sobbing stopped, he let her go and stepped away.

"Did hitting me make you feel any better?" he asked, managing a smile, as though the blow hadn't affected him in the least.

"Sir, I'm so-"

"What did I say about apologizing when you're not sorry?" asked Rufus. He sighed and shook his head. "If you really want to go after AVALANCHE I won't stop you," he said, "in fact you have my authorization to take a few troopers with you. Just promise me you'll back down if things get out of hand. I can't afford to lose another Turk right now? Tseng wouldn't have wanted you to throw your life away for his sake, either."

**Note: This is essentially chapter 2 of "Life is Stronger Than Death" from Rufus's point of view. I wrote this first, because I couldn't figure out how to write Rufus without being in his head. I waited until now to upload this because I wanted people to see it from Elena's perspective before seeing it from Rufus's. It's unbetaed, because as much as I love my beta (love you Licorice!), I wanted to leave this as close as possible to the original version so I wouldn't have continuity issues between this and my other fic/I really wanted to just post this right now, for some reason. **


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